[Stress testing in cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation]

In recent years, investigations into cardiac rehabilitation have suggested that bicycle exercise training increases peak oxygen uptake of patients with chronic heart failure(CHF). However, some patients can not perform such exercise because of poor cardiac function. If patients were able to achieve metabolic improvement in their muscles by localized small muscle group training, it would be advantageous for these patients. Therefore, in patients with CHF, we investigated whether localized skeletal muscle training improved calf muscle metabolism. Seven patients undertook a random order crossover trial. Training consisted of unilateral calf plantar flexion exercise. After training, phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed significant improvements in calf muscle metabolism in patients with CHF. Subjective fatigue score was also improved. In this paper, stress testing in cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation including the above experimental data were introduced.